Series universes could be the next big Netflix trend. While the streamer is busy working on spin-offs to high-flyers like Wednesday or Stranger Things, spin-offs for The Witcher, Money Heist and Bridgerton have long since been launched. Now the excellent fantasy horror Sandman is also joining the Netflix universe.
The dark youth series Dead Boy Detectives starts on April 25, 2024 and is in the same universe as Netflix’s Sandman series located. Although it explores completely new genre corners of the comic world imagined by Neil Gaiman, it also relies on weird and creative inventiveness. Can the fantasy novelty convince?
Fantasy crime thriller on Netflix: That’s what Dead Boy Detectives is about
As the title suggests, standing At the center of the Netflix series are two dead teenagers: Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) was murdered by fellow students at a boarding school in 1916 and, through a misunderstanding, ended up in hell, from which he was only able to escape decades later. The second Dead Boy is Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), who died prematurely in 1989.
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The Dead Boy Detectives later even appeared as a quartet
Since their deaths were never solved, Edwin and Charles want to prevent this injustice for other deceased people. And so they take care of all sorts of supernatural cases with their London detective agency. But because they are on Earth without permission, they are always on guard against bureaucrats from Hell and Death (Kirby) himself.
However, right at the start of the Netflix series, the duo becomes a trio. The Dead Boy Detectives help psychic Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) free herself from a demonic ex who has possessed her and robbed her of her memories. For their first case together, the trio finally travels to the American coastal town of Port Townsend, where they spend the entirety of the journey eight episodes with all sorts of supernatural puzzles and dangers be confronted.
A DC series becomes a Netflix series
Dead Boy Detectives looks back on an eventful production history. Initially envisioned as a spin-off of the superhero series Doom Patrol on HBO Max, the adaptation of the comic series of the same name became part of the restructuring of the DC Universe Sold to Netflix during filming. This now turns out to be a stroke of luck.
With the acquisition of Netflix, the Dead Boy Detectives are returning to their origins. The characters first appeared in Neil Gaiman’s classic graphic novel Sandman. Now this connection is also taking place in series form (thanks to two surprising guest appearances). Don’t expect a second Sandman, though.
Dead Boy Detectives is namely a supernatural and queer fantasy horror series for teens, which is more reminiscent of a mix of Supernatural and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The comparison is no coincidence: the series was co-created by Supernatural showrunner Steve Yockey, while the pilot episode was directed by “CAOS” director Lee Toland Krieger.
Dead Boy Detectives is a crazy fantasy crime thriller for horror fans
Anyone who liked the weird horror ideas in Netflix’s Sabrina series or the monstrous adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester will particularly enjoy Dead Boy Detectives. Whether curses, demons, witches stealing children, monster mushrooms, paranormal parasites, hellish bureaucracy or a sexy cat king: There seem to be no limits to the crazy ideas.
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The Cat King is just one of many highlights
The Netflix series also impresses visually with crazy ideas and gadgets. Among other things, there is a black and white flashback in 4:3 format, while the finale surprises with an animated sequence.
Dead Boy Detectives is told according to the case-of-the-week principle. This means: Aside from the overarching plot and character development, the young detectives take on a new supernatural case every episode. As a result, the series impresses with its narrative diversity and is hardly boring.
Horror fans are not left out. Despite being a teen series, Dead Boy evokes detectives some nightmarish horror moments. In addition to grotesquely tattered corpses, crawling skeletons and a spider creature made out of doll heads, there is also a haunted house with an Amityville reference.
Dead Boy Detectives can not only be scary, but also often unexpectedly funny, for example when Crystal tries to read the mind of a male teen and announces her intentions with the words “Oh, just porn, everything just porn!“must cancel immediately.
In the end, Dead Boy Detectives is a long way from being the epic fantasy saga about Dream and the Endless. The eight varied episodes still offer one entertaining and entertaining binge full of likeable characters, weird horror humor and a good dose of heart.
All eight episodes of Dead Boy Detectives will be available to watch on Netflix from April 25, 2024. The basis for this series check is the entire first season.